Ikuto Tsukiyomi's 100 Good Deeds
by StoryCurrentlyUntitled
Summary: I have always been bad at communicating with girls. Not really shy per say, just not well-spoken. The idea of teasing them without being embarrassed at my poor social skills appealed to me for one reason and one reason only. A girl named Hinamori Amu.RnR!
1. Thank You

**Untitled is here again people. I'm back with my second story for Shugo Chara. This story is actually a crossover with a show I watched a long time ago "100 Good Deeds of Eddie Mcdowd." What the show is about (because most people will probably not have any clue what this show is and have never heard of it.) The plot involves a bully who picks a fight with a homeless guy one day and as punishment he is turned into a dog and has to do 100 good deeds to become human again. It's pretty cute:) **

**In this story, I put Ikuto in Eddie's position, but tried not to make him look like such a bad guy. Now I know that it is probably common to make Ikuto into an actual cat in stories for this show but when I was watching Shugo Chara tonight and came across information on that old show online, I couldn't help myself. I thought it might be fun to try my hand at a little comedy, with a splash of romance thrown in. This first chapter isn't too funny, but that's just cause the intro always has to be slightly boring. Bear with it and it will get funnier! Also, strap in, because this is going to be a long story!**

**I do not want any flames. I like positive feedback though! Feel free to praise me, since doing this stuff is hard work haha:) Anyway, sit back, relax and enjoy watching Ikuto suffer muahahaha. Kidding, but I will have to torture him a little. I kinda like the idea of giving him a taste of his own medicine;)**

**Also, I do not own either "100 Good Deeds for Eddie Mcdowd" or "Shugo Chara!" It just seemed like a fun and interesting combo at the time!**

Ikuto Tsukiyomi's 100 Good Deeds

I have always been bad at communicating with girls. Not really _shy_ per say, just not well-spoken. The idea of teasing them without being embarrassed at my poor social skills appealed to me for one reason and one reason only. A certain bubble gum haired girl with big, melt-your-heart honey eyes. A girl named Hinamori Amu.

Out of any girl who talked to me, I teased her the most because it was easy. She was so cute when she'd stick her tongue out at me in disgust or roll her eyes that it made the teasing _more than_ worth it.

I made a huge mistake one day picking on the wrong girl however, and as punishment she turned me into a cat.

_"In this form you must preform 100 good deeds." Her voice was low, almost in-human._

_"Good deeds?" I asked, tilting my tiny dark blue head in confusion. I was still trying to process the fact that I was actually a guy trapped in a cat's body._

_"Yes, one hundred acts of kindness towards any girl of your choice." Her voice makes shivers run up my back. Scary. _

_"Why?" I look off to one side, scowling inwardly. Something like this would happen to me._

_Her long fingers wrap around my face, forcing me to look in her direction. I try with great desperation to not look half as nervous as I am. "It is your punishment." With those four simple words, my life had changed forever. She turned and walked away._

One week later I am taken away to a pet shop, so I never get the chance to start looking for someone who can help me complete this task. After spending a number of months in a glass home with newspaper and cat toys, I have all but given up on ever becoming a human again. I eat a cat's food, use a cat's litter box, play with a cat's toys and for all intents and purposes, I become a cat for the months I sit in that display in the Mall's Pet Shop. I am sure that I will remain a cat for the rest of my now very short feline life.

Then one day while laying, looking out at the other people coming and going through the mall, I hear a familiar voice. "You guys go on!" A female voice calls out, making my one ear twitch with minumum interest. "I'm going to go look at the pet store!" And then, like a ton of bricks falling on me, the idea comes. Somehow, I have to get her to leave this store with me.

"Amu!" I call out, jumping to my paws. I am saddened when the only sound I hear come from my mouth is a small meow. _Oh, that's right…I can't talk to people now._ I should have remembered that she, like all of the others before her the past few months, would not be able to hear me speak. I lay back down, my hope fading again.

She turns, catching my attention. "Hmmm…" She whispers to herself. "I thought I heard someone say my name just now."

My eyes widen. It couldn't be! Not even my own mother could hear my voice. All of the other humans looked at me and turned up their noses because I was too noisy. But maybe...just maybe Amu can hear me. "Amu!" I try again, making her face me just as she starts to turn around again.

"Who?" Her small mouth parts, her eyes becoming slightly fearful. Oh great, completely not what I was trying to do at all. If I scare her now, she may leave. Then I might not ever get out of here.

"Over here!" I paw at the glass, trying with a racing heart to get her attention. This could, after all, determine my entire future. I don't want to be a cat forever, damn it. "Amu…come over here."

She looks straight at me for a moment, then begins walking over, confused. Her expression is the picture of confusion and fear. _Why is a cat talking? Is this for real? _The words are written all over her face.

"W-what is going on here?" She presses her head to the glass, her hands coming to rest beside her cheeks. Her eyes are as wide and cute as ever, and I am more than thankful I am a cat for once. I can't look embarrassed in this form, or at least, it would be nearly impossible to look embarrassed.

"Listen…I don't really know why you can understand me, but I _am_ talking to you, Amu." I stare at her as her eyes peer through the glass at me. The sixteen-year-old looks so much bigger from this perspective. Yet another way to teach me a lesson, damn that old hag.

"Wh-who are you?" She questions, her voice barely above a whisper. I wouldn't want to be seen having a conversation with a cat either. I'll try to make this as painless as possible for her.

"It's Ikuto…Ikuto Tsukiyomi." I tell her, letting out a heavy breath.

"But…why are you? How..." She doesn't even finish the question, but instead points to my body as a whole, to place emphasis on her inquiry.

I look down, depressed. At this rate -even though she can hear me and found me for whatever reason- I will never get out of here. "Look…later ok?"

"But…but…" Her voice is intrigued, yet frightened. She must think she's going crazy. I don't blame her. I wouldn't believe it either if I was in her position. But now isn't the time for this. My whole life is quite literally on the line here.

"Can you please just help me get out of here? I will tell you whatever you want to know then…just…can you please help me out of this?" I look up at her with big blue eyes, tilting my head to the side a little. I need to use this animal body as much as I can. Most girls can't resist a cute little animal. Even I know that. She's my only chance, so for once I must beg as an animal. I must turn on the charm that I have aquired as an animal.

About a half an hour and a generous payment of money later, I am carried out of the pet shop in Amu's arms with an embarrassing blue bow tied around my neck.

"Was the bow really something I needed?" I ask, pouting. _I really hate not having thumbs anymore._

"Stop complaining, jeez you're a lot whinier than I remember." She purses her lip, her brow wrinkling in irritation. "I did just save you from a lifetime in a pet shop, not to mention blow my allowance that I had been saving up for the last five months to do so." She rolls her eyes, looking as adorable as ever. What a cute girl.

I just hold my tongue for the time being, no arguments coming to mind for a reply like that. She's right, so obviously there is no way to argue. I just lay my head down on her arm, trying my hardest not to become too comfortable. I am still a human boy after all, I just happen to be borrowing a cat's body. Having her arms wrapped completely around my body while I'm not even wearing any clothes, even if I'm not a human is kinda awkward. After all, I was a human before this all happened.

She manages to get me home without her family noticing, taking me up to her room and locking the door behind her. She lets out a sigh of relief before turning her attention to me. "Now, tell me what's going on here!" The pink-headed girl shouts while holding my body out in front of her own, her arms shaking slightly.

I growl lowly, annoyed. "Put me down and I'll explain," I reply to her calmly and am lowered gently to the floor. Her eyes stay locked on me as I explain it all, never once wavering.

"So…" She is still trying to wrap her head around the whole idea. "you're trying to tell me that some homeless girl turned you into a cat as a punishment for picking a fight with her?"

"Look, I know it sounds impossible…but…you can hear me talk. If that's not proof enough that I'm not lying, then I don't know what is." I absently bring my paw up to my mouth and begin licking it, having picked up the habits of a real cat from being forced to live like one for so long. I reget it the instant I begin and remove my tongue from my arm, placing my paw on the floor once more. How could I forget myself like that? I'm not a real cat for god's sake! She giggles, but it ceases without my having to scowl at her.

Placing a finger on her chin, she ponders what I have told her. "I suppose you do have a point. So, will you be this way forever?"

"Well, it depends on if I complete the task that I was given." I reply dryly, getting bored with this conversation already. I just want to get some sleep. It's been such a long day, all I really need is a good night's sleep.

"What task was it that you were given?" She questions again, her eyes wide and curious.

I can't resist those eyes, even if I am irritable. "One hundred good deeds, if I don't or I only do it part way, I'll be a cat forever." I decide not to tell her that I have to pick one girl to show one hundred acts of kindness to, nor do I mention that she may very well be the one I pick. After all, I do owe her big time after what she has done for me today. It would be the right thing to do. I will tell her when the time comes, but for now there's no reason to get any closer to her than need be. Right now we're really not even friends, she was just someone who happened to be able to help me at the time and I happened to be able to get her to help me. It's really better if she doesn't know yet, just why I am _really_ doing this.

Her eyes are nearly popping out of her head. "Wow…it looks like you really did pick on the wrong girl this time." She snickers, covering her mouth with her hands.

I look away, scowling inwardly. Just remind me of how hopeless my situation is, way to go strawberry head. "Thanks for pointing it out, that's just what I wanted to hear."

She simply shrugs at me, looking indifferent. "Well, I did just save your butt you know. Instead of being mean and sarcastic, you could be a little nicer. How about showing some appreciation, huh?" She crosses her arms, standing up and walking over to her bed. She flops down instantly, worn out from trying to process all of the things that have happened this afternoon.

I trot over to the edge of the bed, leaping effortlessly up to the mattress and leaning over her face, peering down at her. Her eyes open. "Is something the matter?" I ask softly. She turns to the side, propping her head up with her elbow. Her eyes latch onto mine. My mouth falls open a little, my heart picking up the pace.

"I just…really can't believe that I'm having a conversation with a cat." She tells me rather bluntly, looking a little exasperated.

"You know, I'm not really a cat," I reply, my expression dull. Man, this is going to be annoying. "I just happen to be in a cat's body."

"But still…why is it then that I am the only one who can actually talk to you?" She questions. It is a logical question and obviously something anyone forced into this situation would want to know, but I am not in the mood to answer any more of her questions. It's been a long few months for me.

Sighing, I move to the foot of the bed and curl up, resisting the urge to clean myself up a bit before sleeping. I can't lick _any other_ parts of my body in front of her. Licking my paw before had been where I drew the line. She has already laughed at me for behaving like an animal. I won't make the same mistake more than once. "Who cares about this stuff anyway? Can we just go to sleep now? It's been a long day."

She scowls at me, but realizes that I do have a point and stands, going to her drawer for night clothes. She places the pajamas on her dresser and slides her shirt up and over her head. The hair on my back stands on end and I jump up, turning the other way. My heart starts to beat a little faster, frustrating me further. Is she stupid? Did she already forget that I am here?

"Hey! What are you doing?" I say coolly, forcing myself to look the other way. I hear her stumble, probably trying to look at me while taking something off. _Mmmm, I'm alone with a girl in her room while she's taking off her clothes…and I'm a cat. My life sucks. _This couldn't happen to me while I was human, no.

"Oh…sorry…jeez you couldn't have said something sooner?" I peek around to see that her face is all red as she buttons the last button on her shirt. However, she still has no pants on. Quickly, I turn back toward the wall, feeling my skin heating. I can't blush in this form, but if I were human I would be.

Calming myself, I keep my voice void of my previous surprise and embarrassment. "Well I didn't know you'd just start undressing. You know, you're pretty dense."

"What was that?" She almost shouts, picking me up off the bed and glaring fiercely. "This is my room, I can get changed in here if I want."

"Whatever." I say, yawning.

She's glowering at me, squeezing my body so tightly that it hurts. "Why you little…ewww…you know I saved your butt today, I even gave you a place to live. For someone who's supposed to be doing good deeds, you're not doing too good. I have yet to even hear a thank you from you!"

I just look away, suddenly at a loss for words. Again, I know that she is right.

"Jeez…" She drops me onto the bed roughly, walking to her dresser to take out her hair burettes.

I turn to face her as she comes back to the bed, getting in under the covers and wriggling in to warm the blankets faster. Her feet swish back and forth under the comforter, making me back off to the side a little. I tilt my head and glance up at her.

"Why are you moving around so much?" I question, my blue eyes moving up to her face.

Her body stiffens and she looks down at me. "Oh, it just makes it more comfortable." She shrugs.

I saunter up and take a seat beside her head as she turns onto her back, placing my tiny paw on her arm. I figure that saying thank you is the least I can do. She does deserve it after all, she is right about needing to hear a thank you. Her eyes connect with mine momentarily, her mouth open slightly. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to say…" I avert my eyes for a second, trying to get it together. What the hell is wrong with me? I'm acting so childish. I suppose it's just weird to talk to her in a cat's body. My eyes move back to hers, causing her to jump slightly. "You know, thanks for helping me out today."

Her eyes are wide as a little, soft smile graces her features. She reaches out, scratching the base of my ear. My tail fans out a bit, both shocked and intrigued. I _like_ the feeling of being touched this way by her. It feels...good. "You're welcome." She says in a voice that matches the expression on her face. Gently, her nails mover through my soft fur, causing a tingling feeling to move down my spine. _No, I'm wrong._ My mind retorts as I close my eyes. _I really like being touched like this._

I pull away before I get too happy and curl up facing the wall. If I get carried away and let myself act like an animal instead of a human being, it could be really embarrassing. I was okay acting like a cat around strangers and other cats because that is simply what I had to do to survive, but I just can't bring myself to behave like an animal around her. It'd be too embarrassing and uncomfortable. "Well anyway, we should sleep." It seems like the most appropriate statement at the moment.

"You're right." She snuggles into the blankets more and is soon fast asleep.

For another thirty minutes I am unable to fall asleep and jump off the bed, going over and sitting in front of the door to the balcony. Gazing out at the starlit night sky, I can't help feeling a little hopeless. Is it really possible to do all 100 good deeds? How will I do them in this body anyway? I'm just an animal now. There's not much I can do for people like this. If only I hadn't picked a fight with that girl that day. Things would be very different. I would be human now for one thing. I wouldn't have to lick myself to be clean. I wouldn't have to eat horrible-tasting cat food. I wouldn't have to go to the bathroom like a cat. And I sure as hell wouldn't be in Amu Hinamori's bedroom.

When I turn my head to take a glance at her peacefully unaware sleeping form, I am stuck with a thought. _Maybe that last one isn't such a bad thing. After all, it's a free place to stay and a warm bed at night. Not to mention, all the human food I can eat._ With a small bound and a leap, I am on her bed again. I move closer to her this time, curling up against her stomach. _Ahh, so warm. I really could get used to this. _It's so warm laying beside her instead of all alone in a glass box with strangers peering in at me. Somehow, I know I have to make this work.

**Well, there you have it. Chapter one of "Ikuto Tsukiyomi's 100 Good Deeds." I liked how it went, so please review. Also, please check out my other story "Lonely No More." If you enjoy Amu turning the tables on Ikuto as much as I, then I can say with some confidence that you will like it. I hope to see some good things!**


	2. Good Deed One: Just Something Small

**And here it is, chapter two. Ikuto's first good deed and all the events surrounding. I hope you all enjoy reading. This sure is fun to write! I really hope to see some more people leaving reviews. No flames. I'd like to get some more people following this closely, since it's going to be quite the long story. Just so everyone who is reading knows, new chapters should be up on a weekly basis, so stay on the look out. They won't be posted on the same day every week, but I like to take my time when I'm writing and the weekends are best time for my to come up with good ideas:)~**

The following morning when my eyes open, I am sprawled out over her chest. My head rests on her small collarbone, her even breathing rocking my head and keeping me in a dream-like state. I slowly lift my head and yawn, shaking away the sleepy feeling. When I begin to take full notice of where I am, I feel like my soul has left my little feline body. So much for ever turning human again, because now…I'm dead.

I'm nestled comfortably on her chest, right in-between two of the three areas on a girl that any man would be hated for touching without permission. My breathing is shallow and I feel the fur on my back standing on end as she begins to wake up beneath me. The pink-headed girl begins to stretch out, her arms extended out beside her. She yawns widely without covering her mouth as her messy strands of hair stick to her face. Slowly, those honey colored eyes open. _Man, I am going to be killed._

Fortunately, it seems she is still only half-conscious and not really aware of my presence yet. I breathe a sigh of relief, just in time for her to roll over and lay back down on her stomach right on top of me. "Jeez…" I mumble to myself, as I let out a choked breath. Even though I know I probably deserve this for sleeping on her chest, but that doesn't mean I want to die. Especially if she doesn't even know what she's doing right now. "Hey…get off."

She's either not listening or has already fallen back asleep once more because she makes no move to get off me. "Come on…Amu…wake up already…" I try to claw my way out from under her body, but to no avail. My body weight is no match for her now.

Slowly she gets to her hands and knees, grumbling groggily. She stares right down at me for a few moments as I get to my feet. It seems Amu is looking right through me for the following seconds, not yet comprehending the situation. Her expression swiftly changes to that of confusion, her head tilting to the side a little. Tentatively, she moves her fingers to the side of my face, poking me out of curiosity and confusion.

Could she really have forgotten all about yesterday after sleeping? I sigh, an irritable scowl crossing my features. "Did you forget about yesterday already?"

Her eyes widen swiftly, her mouth falling open in shock. She springs back away from me, screeching loudly, nearly taking a nasty tumble off the bed in the process. "T-there's a cat…in my bed!" Her arm shakes as she points a finger at me, as if she needs to reaffirm my presence by pointing me out. "A…a cat that talks! Why is it in my bed? Where did it come from? What…what the hell is this?" Amu has completely lost her mind and is now looking from left to right with great ferocity, as if the answer will magically pop out of one of her walls or fly in through the window.

All I can do for a moment is continue to stare at her, looking exasperated. "Come on, remember already." I tell her at length, lowering my head a bit.

Her expression softens as she starts to remember yesterday. "Oh that's right." The girl crawls back up beside me, grinning.

I simply shake my head. "Seriously…" I look up at her. "What was that all about? Low blood pressure or something?"

All Amu can do is shrug at me, rubbing the back of her head, this dumb-looking sheepish expression on her face.

Before either of us has the chance to say or do anything else, there is a knock on the door. "Amu…" Her mother's voice calls in to us. Both my eyes and hers widen at the same time. "Amu, are you ok in there? I heard you shouting from _downstairs_."

She jumps to her feet, looking petrified. "Mama?"

"Amu, I'm coming in!" The knob begins to turn and I feel like I've lost all function in my body. This is it, right back out on the street I go. There's not a parent I've ever heard of that just lets their child keep some animal they randomly bring home. Suddenly, Amu is clenching me by the scruff of the neck. She makes a mad dash for her closet and pretty much tosses me inside, shutting the door.

"Hi mom!" I heard her squeak out, a little over-enthusiastically. Good going kid, that'll _definately_ throw her off your trail.

"Honey, are you sure everything is alright?" Her mom sounds pretty worried about her.

"Yeah, I'm fine! No need to worry!" She chirps again, trying her best to get her mom to back off.

"Well alright. Just hurry up, breakfast is on the table." The door shuts as her mom exits the room and I hear her sigh loudly. The door of the closet opens a few seconds later and I hop out, prancing over to her bed and jumping up beside her. Without a word, I sit down. That was entirely way too close.

When I look up at her, she's already glancing down at me. "We have to make sure that no one finds out you're here. Ok?"

I nod. "Of course."

"I'll let you stay in my room. But, since you're a cat, you're going to need cat things right?"

I feel shivers run all through my body as she asks this, and I know I'm losing my nerve. Could this possibly be anymore embarrassing? One of my first normal conversations with this girl has to be about something like this. Sometimes I'm truly amazed at how much my life sucks. "No…no, I don't. I can get food from the kitchen when no one else is home, and if I need to go to the bathroom, I'll just go outside." I really do not like the idea of discussing something as private as my bowel movements with her. I mean, the line has to be drawn in the sand somewhere. I'm a boy, not a cat.

She stands and turns toward me, her cheeks a little flushed. Ok, it's slightly refreshing to know that she was just as uncomfortable having that conversation as I was. "O-ok…well anyway, I've got to go get ready and go to school. Are you going to be okay here on your own?"

I nod, feeling a little nervous. I have to say yes to appease her. But the truth is, I really don't know what will happen. Things were already crazy enough this morning. And who knows how long I'm going to be here now. "Yeah, I'll be fine." I lie in an even tone.

She smiles at me, patting me on the top of my head. My eyes widen a little. Jeez, still forgetting that I am a human and not a cat I see. "Alright well, I'll see you later then." With that, she leaves to get ready and I am left to my thoughts on her bed.

_It has to be her. I already owe her anyway._ I lick my paw, quietly deciding that she'll be the one. I realize that it's nice to finally be able to bathe in peace. This really is the only way I can clean myself now. _I wonder how I'm even supposed to help her anyway. I'm just a cat right now, fairly powerless in this small body. I don't even have thumbs._ I stare coldly at my paw, angry at how useless it is. "Damn it." I hiss.

I doze for a little while after I hear Amu leave, just trying to relax myself. There's nothing I can do worrying about how to help her when she's not even here anyway. I may as well just try and sleep for a while. With my eyes shut, my tail flops back and forth lazily. I bask in the early morning light pouring in from her balcony window. How comforting.

Suddenly, I hear something come bounding up the stairs and spring to all fours, my eyes wide. _Gotta hide! _My head swings from one side of the room to the other as I turn to face the other direction, searching frantically for any place to hide. Before I can move, the door flies open. Busted! _Ah, no! I screwed this all up already._ Slowly, I turn my head to look back over my shoulder and see a young child standing there. Her eyes are wide with intrigue, her lips curling up into a purposeful smile. _Oh shit!_ Of all the people in the house, it has to be the toddler who finds me. _This is bad! This is really bad!_

Knowing what I must do, I jump down off the bed, making a mad dash for the door. When I am just in front of it, it closes in my face. I come to a screeching halt, frozen with fear. Who knows what this little kid will do to me!

"Kitty!" She coos, picking me up haphazardly and squeezing me until I am no longer able to breathe. I'm going to die…I know I am going to die. She holds so tightly onto me, I hear my small body give a grunt of exhaustion under the pressure.

Footsteps begin to resound on the steps. _This is it!_ Her grip on my body loosens just enough for me to get away and I run and hide under the bed, trying not to pant too loudly.

"Ami…what are you doing in here?" It's Amu's mother. God that was close.

"I was playing with the kitty!" I hear the child say, stumbling of the pronunciation of her words. Peeking out through the one inch of space between the blanket and the floor, I see Mrs. Hinamori look around, confused.

"Honey," She begins, kneeling down and smiling at her daughter. "You can play with your invisible friend later. We have to get you ready for school."

Ami whines a little and the two eventually leave the room. The silence is quite refreshing and I let out a deep sigh of relief and exhaustion. _What a troublesome child. I think it's best not to tell Amu about this incident if I can avoid it._ Just imaging the killer look on her face is enough to warrant keeping my mouth shut.

At some point during the day, I know that I will have to go to the restroom. I can just go in and use the toilet. It's a good thing that Amu's mom left the door open so I can at least get around the house in their absence.

Late that afternoon, Amu is the first to arrive home. She drops her bag to the floor, letting herself fall down onto her bed. I look in her direction. Her face looks a little red, her color paler than usual.

"Dummy," I place my paw on her forehead. "Did you somehow get a fever?"

She nods. "I've been feeling a little off for a few days."

I just shake my head. "You are an idiot." I lean down close to her ear and whisper it to her, making her growl irritably.

"You little fur ball!" I open my mouth and bite down on her ear, not too harshly, but enough to make my point. "What the hell?" Amu jumps up, trying to separate herself from me.

I just stare up at her, giving her the cat's equivalent of a sly smirk. "You deserved it…" I lick my lips. "…and you taste good."

Her eyes widen and she reaches up, covering her ears. Her face is even redder than before, the very picture of embarrassment. "I _cannot_ believe I was just sexually harassed by an animal!"

My eyes narrow at the mention of the word animal. "I am not a real cat! How long will it take you to understand that?"

She just crosses her arms, turning her nose up at me. "Hmph, right now you walk, sound, look and act like a cat. That makes you one, whether you like it or not."

I stare pointedly at her. "What? I was only trying to teach you a lesson." She doesn't need to know that I am worried. I'll just let her yell if that's what she thinks is going to make her feel better.

"You can't just go biting on people's ears like that jerk! Your teeth are sharp. At that, being mean to people isn't going to get you any closer to being human again." She whines, grabbing her bag and taking a seat at her desk. "Anyway, I don't have time to talk to a cat right now…"

I interrupt, getting pissed. "I keep telling you, I'm not a cat!" She's doing that on purpose, just to annoy me. I know it.

She ignores me completely this time. "I have a ton of homework to do. Just stay out of my way." She turns to me, sticking her tongue out just to further provoke my irritation.

Turning away, I curl up in a ball and brood. "Whatever."

She sets to work soon enough and all I can hear is the sound of her pencil scratching on the paper. Occasionally, I hear her mumble to herself or erase something. I look back over my shoulder. Seeing her looking so worn out makes my eyes widen a little, she really is working pretty hard. It must be a subject she has trouble with. On top of that, she isn't feeling too well at the moment. I can see her burning out. Sighing, I get up and stretch out, turning to the girl. "Hey…"

She looks over at me, her neutral expression turning into a slight frown. "What?"

"Amu!" A voice comes up the hall, startling us both. I lose my chance to respond to her.

"Yes?" She calls back, turning away from me.

"Dinner time." The voice responds.

"Okay, I'll be right there!" She stands up, coming over to me. Leaning down, she offers me a small smile. I notice the red in her face now more than the first couple times. She's not making things easier on herself by pushing this homework. I avert my eyes, slightly embarrassed at having been staring. "I'll make sure to sneak some scraps from the dinner or get you something else." She softly pats me on the head, turning around before I can look up to meet her eyes. The door closes and she leaves without saying another word.

I lower my head, feeling pretty guilty. _So she's getting sick and has so much work to do, and she's worried about whether I get enough to eat right now?_ My eyes narrowing in frustration, I bare my teeth. _Stupid girl._

I get off her bed, jumping up onto her desk. What kind of homework is it that she has to do anyway? When I look down at it, I am met with a paper full of Algebra problems. This might be something that I can help her with! Math was my best subject when I was still going to school. Using my paw to pull the paper a little closer, I notice that nearly all of the work she's done so far is completely wrong. I fall onto the desk in surprise at just how _many_ of them were obliterated. I have no choice, I have to help her with this.

When she comes back, I just sit still on her desk, watching her. She eyes me curiously before taking a seat in her desk chair and places a small bowl full of seasoned, skinless chicken on the desk in front of me. My eyes widen a bit staring at the food and then move back up to study her face.

"Yes it's all for you. I just told mom that I was still kinda hungry but had a lot of homework to do and she let me bring this up with me." She had her arms crossed, a stubborn scowl etched into her face.

I smirk inwardly and then tilt my head to the said a little, jumping down into her lap. Arching my back, I rub my side against her stomach, my tail in the air. _Mmmm, she's so soft and warm._ I'm as glad I chose to do this as I could be, but she doesn't need to know. I look up at her, contentment dancing in my eyes. "Thank you Amu…and as a reward I will…" I rear up onto my two back paws, placing my front paws on her collarbone. Stretching out my neck a little, I give her a cat's kiss in the small space between her upper lip and the bottom of her nose.

Her eyes widen in surprise and then she picks me up, dropping me onto the floor. My paws sting a bit with the impact. "Hey…what was that for?"

"Cause you were trying to kiss me." She pouts, turning away. "I guess I can just eat this chicken."

My eyes widen as I feel my stomach lurch in hunger. I paw at her leg, forced to beg. "No please…let me eat it."

Satisfied that she had gotten back at me, she places the bowl back on the desk, reaching down and wrapping her hands around my belly. I gasp at the feeling of her hands on me again. Just like being touched while completely naked. When she places me down on the desk, I turn my back to her, embarrassed. "You didn't have to pick me up you know. I could have gotten up on my own."

I feel her hand gently rest on my lower back, involuntarily my tail curls up a little. "I know I didn't. Just enjoy your food." I flinch as her hand moves off my back. Oh, why did I like that? Without giving it anymore thought, I dig in. I finish quickly and then turn back to her.

"I saw that you're not doing too good with those." I tell her in a bland voice, looking down at the paper.

Amu just makes a face. "Everyone's bad at something."

I nod my head. "That's very true in this case. Almost every one of those is wrong." I tease her a little, making her turn to me and pout.

"Do you think you could do any better? You don't even have any thumbs." She smirks, knowing she has me with that one and I just glare at her.

"You want my help with this or not?" I look toward the wall, frustrated.

"Eh? You can help?"

"I am good at math. I'll show you what to do and we'll get this done fast." I explain and she nods.

We begin to work on the remaining problems. With my help, she really does start to get the hang of it. We go back to the beginning then and fix the ones that were incorrect. It probably takes around twenty minutes to finish all the math and she places the work back in her bag when it's over. Leaning back in her chair, she looks completely exhausted.

"Come on, you should get some sleep." I tell her nonchalantly, reaching out with one paw and clawing at her shirt sleeve.

Nodding, she goes to get her pajamas. I close my eyes and turn the other way while she changes. She sneezes a couple times and then I hear her slip into bed and follow her there. She's shivering. With much consideration, I crawl up onto her, trying my best to help her stay warm. She smiles at me. "Thanks Ikuto."

Jeez, what a smile. I find my tail is flaring out a little in embarrassment. "Don't mention it."

The following day is a Saturday and Amu leaves the house for an hour or so to go shopping. When she returns, she is holding a small brown bag. I tilt my head. "What's that?"

"A bag," She replies smartly, sticking her tongue out at me. "What does it look like?"

I growl at her. "I mean what's in the bag smart ass."

She takes a seat on the bed and unties the ribbon from around my neck, placing it on the bed beside her. Out of the brown bag she pulls a cat collar with a small silver fish-shaped tag on it. The number "100" is printed across the tag. She puts it on me, smiling. "Just a little something for helping me out with that homework."

I look down at the collar and suddenly the number changes to a 99. Amu smiles down at me. "It looks like someone found out about your good deed last night."

I look at the collar too, confused. "But it wasn't a big deal or anything. All I did was help with homework."

"I guess that's all it takes, just something small." She pats my back, making my tail rise a little involuntarily. I look down, embarrassed at not being able to control my reactions better, but smile nonetheless. Maybe this won't be as impossible as I thought.

**Well, chapter two is over. Be sure to review. If you read it this far, something must have interested you! Tell me what that was. I look forward to hearing from you guys:) Thank you to those who have already reviewed, your opinions and thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thanks for following the story to the end of chapter two! Chapter three is currently being written and should be up next week.**


	3. Good Deed Two: Illness and Rescue

**Here is chapter three. It's a bit more serious than the other chapters, but I really do like the way this one turned out. Anyway, I hope you all like it! Please read and review and if you don't tell other people who you think might like this if you know anyone. I want word to get around about this story to bring in more readers! Thank you to those of you have already reviewed it, you are awesome:)**

The first rays of morning light begin to peek through the glass door leading to the balcony. I slowly open my eyes and stretch, feeling the softness of the pillow beneath my feet. Ever since last week when I helped with the homework, I'd gotten my own pillow. At least I am living large for being stuck as an animal.

I glance at the girl sleeping beside me, letting out a deep breath. Her face is all red. Her breathing seems a bit labored. Tentatively, I move my paw onto her forehead. _She's burning up! _I sigh, closing my eyes with the exasperation. _Must have made herself sick studying so hard. Stupid._

Breaking my inner monologue, there is a knock at the door. "Wake up Amu! You need to start getting ready!"

The fur on my back stands on end when I hear the doorknob start to turn. "Amu, I'm coming in!" Her mom's voice calls through the door. Amu stirs on the bed, her movements strained. I chance a worried glance at her and then hop down off the bed, slinking underneath just as the door opens.

Footsteps cross the room, stopping by the bed. "Amu, you're burning up!"

Amu groans heavily and I hear the bed creak as she moves around. "Mom?" She questions, her voice hoarse.

"Good morning…are you alright?" Her mother asks, her voice full of worry.

"Yeah…I'm just catching something…" The girl trails off, her vocal ability fading more with each word.

"Well we were going to go to grandma's today, so that she could see Ami and you for a while. However, if you're sick…" Before the woman can finish, her daughter cuts her off.

"You guys go ahead, I'll be fine here on my own." I hear the bed creak as she moves a bit and her mother moves as if she is helping Amu into a sitting position.

"Are you sure Amu?" The woman sounds even more worried than before and frankly, I don't blame her. How reckless of Amu to try and stay home all alone just so her parents could go out. What a stupid girl. I close my eyes, lowering my head a bit in frustration.

"Yeah mom I'll be fine. I'll just rest." She tells the woman again, making me bare my teeth. _That damn idiot._

"Alright, if you're sure about it. The emergency numbers are by the phone like usual." The woman leaves the room, pulling the door to a close as she moves out. I crawl out from under the bed and jump up beside Amu, glaring. She glances at me.

"What are you looking am like that for?" Her tired eyes narrow a bit in frustration as she leans back on her pillow.

I just shake my head, trying to rid myself of this feeling. Why am I looking at her the way I am? I barely know her right now. There's no reason to be _this _worried. "Dummy…" I begin, walking up beside her face and placing my paw on her forehead. Her fever is surprisingly worse than before. "…don't worry about the reason. Just rest, I'll take care of you."

She manages a small smile before turning over and almost immediately falling back asleep. That face she just made at me is enough encouragement. So what is it again that my mom would have normally done for me when I was sick as a child? She'd usually get a bucket with some ice water and a rag. _Right, to help control the temperature. So, what else?_ Well, I do remember having eaten rice porridge, but obviously I can't make that. Gazing down at the girl who's mouth is open slightly as she rests, I can only assume it'd be a safe bet to say she can't be anywhere near a stove. I know she'll have to eat something at some point today though. Maybe I can wake her up later and ask her to call a friend in to make something for her. Also, she'll have to change out of these clothes later as well. I wonder just how capable she is in her current state.

All of those things will have to come when she does wake up. With the door closed, I don't have any way out right now. I'll just let the girl rest for a bit and wake her up when I think she should eat. I only let myself begin to slumber when I hear everyone else leave.

When my eyes open again, it seems to be sometime in the afternoon. I get up and stretch out, very quickly noticing that the bed is empty save for my own presence in it. Looking around, I come to find she is nowhere in her room either. "Amu?" I question, hopping down off the bed. Luckily the door is open.

Making my way downstairs, I find her in the living room, however, not alone. There are a few other kids in there with her, talking. My jaw about hits the floor when I see this, my tail also fanning out a little. What the hell is she doing? This is no time to play with friends. She should be upstairs lying down.

I know I can't go in and bring her back upstairs, so I instead reduce myself to cowering on the stairs. Even though I know it would be bad if anyone else found me, I can't help feeling lame for hiding instead of taking action. I look back over to see one of the kids hand Amu something.

"Thank you!" She says, her smile looking even more tired than before.

"No problem! My mother sent over the rice porridge when I told her you were not feeling well." A boy's voice responds. Amu looks down, her face flushing deeper. I feel this knot in my chest begin to form. Who is that kid and why is she fawning all over him? A low growl sounds from the back of my throat.

Wait a minute, why do I even care so much if she's interested in someone? It's not like I know her well enough to like her. It has to just be that I'm used to spending a lot of time with her now. I'm used to her only being around me and I forgot that she has other friends. _Jeez, I'm really acting like an annoying child here._

"Amu-chi…" A high pitched girl's voice comes next, one who sounds like she's trying to imitate a small child. "I made some cookies for you as well."

"Thank you Yaya. I'm glad you guys could come today. Where are Nagihiko and Rima?" Her voice fades out as she speaks and I can see the pain flashing through her expression, even from where I hide.

"Nagihiko is dancing today and Rima is there to cheer him on," The boy replies. "They both said to tell you to feel better."

Again her face reddens. I roll my eyes. What a child.

"Anyway Amu-chi, I've gotta go. I've got ballet today." Yaya tells her, standing up and excusing herself. This means, now Amu is alone with this Tadase character. I don't know why this bothers me so much, but the bottom line is that it does right now.

"Here Amu, I'll go warm this up for you." He says, taking the porridge from her and heading off to the kitchen. I take my chance to go and see her.

"Amu?" I ask carefully, jumping up on the couch beside her. She glances at me.

"Oh, Ikuto…" It takes her a minute to realize that I'm out of place by being downstairs. "Wait…you shouldn't be here! Get going!" Her hands work in vain to push me off the couch.

"You really shouldn't be down here playing with friends when you're so sick!" I growl, jumping away from her hands and up onto the armrest. "Be more normal moron!"

With those words she grabs me by the scruff of my neck, lifting me up and holding me at eye level. Her eyes are so fierce with anger it's almost like staring straight into two balls of amber fire. "What did you just call me you little runt?"

Footsteps begin to sound -that boy's footsteps to be exact- signaling his approach from the kitchen. My ears fall flat. Something about this boy rubs me the wrong way. I don't like him, I just don't. Amu grabs a blanket and quickly spreads it out over the both of us and I lay down to play along with her ploy. That won't stop me from steadfastly observing this jerk though.

"Hey Amu, here's the porridge."

I peek out from under the blanket, watching him set the bowl down on his lap. He brings the spoon to his lips and begins cooling it for her. I try with much difficulty to supress a growl as a watch her blush when he reaches over to feed it to her. Like she needs him to do that! _She's capable of at least feeding herself. _Just as the spoon reaches her lips and she takes a tiny sip, I bite down on her leg. Not hard enough to really hurt, just hard enough to make my point. Amu gives an incredible squeal of surprise, jumping back a little.

"I'm sorry, was it too hot?" The blonde boy pulls away, granting me my desired reaction.

The pink headed girl is forced to play along. She can't very well tell him that the cat under the covers bit her. "Y-yeah, that's it! It was just too hot!" It's just a little too high-pitched to not seem suspicious, however the clueless kid doesn't seem to notice and instead hands the bowl over to her.

"Here, I don't want to burn you. You just take it."

She nods. "Ok."

This is even better than the result I had anticipated. I feel like running victory laps around the house at this moment. But, all good things must come to an end eventually I guess. She lifts her leg and then promptly swings it back down hard, flattening me against the couch. I feel the air being forced from my body and give a small grunt under the pressure, scowling at the girl. _Pointless to do though, because she can't see me...but it does make me feel better._ I bite down on her leg again, making her twitch away from me. _Serves you right._

"I really do hope you get feeling better soon." I hear Tadase say.

"Yeah, me too." Amu concurs.

"I should get back home. Mom and dad are working on fixing the house up and they asked for my help."

"Ok." I feel her body begin to relax. Must finally be coming down from her high. This stupid kid makes her act more abnormal than she usually does. "I'll see you in school when I come back?" She questions. I peek out from under the covers, big mistake this time. He looks down at the blanket and just happens to spot my nose. Oh well, no use trying to hide now that he's already seen me.

"Amu..." He says while pointing. "What is that?"

She about jumps right out of her skin as she notices that I have come out from under the cover completely.

The blonde boy just looks confused. "I didn't know your family had a cat, Amu."

I glance back at her, the petrified expression on her face making me laugh inwardly. She has one of the most expressive personalities I've ever seen. "Well...actually we don't." She replies as Tadase takes a seat at her feet, looking at me.

"Well then why is it here?"

I feel like someone just slapped me with a brick. _It?_ Did he really just call me an 'it'? Quickly forgetting the shock, I glare at him. _I'm more of a man than you, shrimpo._ If there was ever a time I wanted to be human again, it would be right now.

"Well, really...I just picked up a _stray_." Amu replies and I redirect my glare in her direction. She glares back, already paying me back for biting her leg before. "Mom, dad and Ami don't know that he is here."

"Oh I see." Comes his response. I turn to look at him, just as he reaches out to pet me. Ah, this is my chance!

"Wait! Tadase-kun..." She tries, but is too late. I bite down roughly on his fingers, making him jerk back a little in surprise. Both of their faces pale a little. "He...bites."

After that boy takes his leave, Amu and I sit on the couch. She scolds me. "I seriously can't believe you did that! What did Tadase-kun ever do to you?"

"I don't like him." I turn my head away, refusing to say I've done anything wrong. Stupid kid got what he deserved, trying to put his hands on me.

"Whatever." She throws the cover back against the couch and gets up, heading toward her room. I follow, bounding up the stairs ahead of her. She gets back into bed, pulling the covers up over her head. I leap onto the bed beside her, facing in her direction.

As much as I expect her to yell at me some more, words just don't come. This condition continues for around a half an hour before it slowly starts to grate on my nerves. Now, usually I'm not the kind of guy who needs to fill long silences. Actually, I really like peaceful, quiet places. And normally, Amu is a loud person. Always angry with me for teasing, scolding me when I do something wrong. So I would think I'd like that she's actually not saying anything to me and being civil. But I really hate it. It's more annoying than when she is loud and yelling, if that's actually a believable statement. I gaze up at her, my nerves at the edge of their endurance.

"Amu?" I try, my tone slightly softer than usual. There is no response, making me bare my teeth a little. "Come on already, say something..." Again, the girl says nothing in response. I nudge her, she jerks away. I paw at her, she kicks me. Finally, I have had more than I can take. I sit at the foot of the bed, gazing up at the lump in the blankets where she's taking refuge. "You know, there's no reason to be this childish. He's just some guy. I'm sure he's not mad at you, so stop acting like a kid who hasn't got her way already." Even after saying that, there is no verbal reply from her. Amu simply stands up, going over to her balcony and walking outside to get some air. From the look on her face, I can tell she's had more than enough of this too.

Jumping down off the bed, I decide to go out to the balcony as well. Not to talk to Amu, but because like her, I need some air. Maybe if I go for a walk, it'll give me a chance to clear my head. Then I can come back and apologize, get that over with and hopefully everything will go back to the way it was before. I glance quickly at Amu. She doesn't look at me, but her face seems redder than before. Just what she needs, standing outside when she's ill already. Even if it's getting to be summer time, she really should be more sensible about this. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back in a while." With that, I prepare myself and leap from the balcony to the wall surrounding the house and finally onto the sidewalk.

I walk in silence, staring ahead blankly. _I just don't get this at all. I've been staying with this girl for around a week now. The one time that another boy shows up, I go all crazy. Sure, even as a human I thought she was attractive and I teased her but I didn't know her then. I don't know her that well now. We just happen to co-exist in an intimate setting. So why would I be jealous? What do I care if she likes some other guy or not? _The image of him feeding her the soup flashes through my mind briefly, accompanied by the feeling inside when I had first heard him respond to her. The hair on my back stands on end. I extend my claws momentarily. Man, that guy pisses me off. _Aside from that, she was acting really childish. Yelling at me and then just hiding and not speaking to me at all. She's not my keeper. How is it that she thinks she's allowed to tell me what to do? It's none of her business. _My eyes narrow a little. _Stupid bratty kid._

After a good while roaming around and clearing my head, I figure it's time to head home. It's easy enough to find my way back. Roaming all over this town is something that I did long before I became a cat. I leap up to the wall around her house, then to the balcony. I sit and wait, pawing at the door. The light is off and Amu is nowhere to be seen. No big deal, maybe she's downstairs. I jump back down, going around until I find one of the windows that's hanging open slightly. Jumping up to the sill, I see her mother and father sitting on the couch, talking.

"Amu's been out a long time dear, do you think we should try calling her?" Her father asks her mother.

"I have already, she hasn't answered. I think she said she was going to the drug store to get some cough syrup because we're out. I told her I'd go, but she said she would just handle it." Her mother replies, looking more worried than she is trying to let on.

The man's eyes widen in surprise. "Well this is a long medicine run."

"I'll try calling her again in a little bit, maybe she just got tied up at the store."

"Yeah, maybe."

My eyes widen a bit. When I was in the bathroom before I remember seeing a completely full bottle of cough medicine right on the counter. There's no way that anyone could have used that much in one day, no matter how sick they are. And at that, she doesn't have that much of a cough. I slight rasp in her speech maybe, but no cough. _That idiot!_ It hits me at once with stunning clarity. _She went off by herself looking for me! I've got to find her. _I turn back to the street, worry striking me immediately as I realize that the sun is beginning to set. She could be anywhere.

I set off at a full run, checking every alley way and nook and cranny for as far as I am able to before I must stop and take a break. Panting, I glance around in every direction, going out of my head. Where the hell is she? Sprinting once more, I only slow when I hear a small voice coming from behind a building. My head whips around and I sniff the air. It may not be as good as a dog's, but my sense of smell is enhanced tenfold at the least. Amu's scent is here! I walk around to the side of the building, peering around the corner. The sight that greets me is absolutely rejected by every part of my body.

Amu is backed up against the wall, some douche bag pressing his body to hers. Her face is full of fear and exhaustion, tear streaks running down of both cheeks. "P-please stop!" She rasps out, her body trembling.

"Come on...it'll be fun..." He traces a finger down along her neck and at that point I feel every muscle in my body begin to react without any forethought. I race toward the son of a bitch, jumping onto him and clawing his side as I make my way up to his neck. Both Amu and douche bag are completely stunned. I clamp my teeth into the guy's neck, making him yelp in pain and discomfort. I sink them a little further before I am pulled away and tossed to the hard pavement with great force. The impact rattles my entire body. My senses abandon me for just a split second before I gather myself.

"Damn animal!" I jump out of the way just in time to avoid being kicked. He comes at me agian, only this time I jump straight at him, closing my jaws over his nose. I bite down as hard as I can, only stopping when I start to taste blood. This asshole won't get away with trying to hurt Amu. I look over at her for just a split second as I let go of the man and jump to the ground. Her eyes are wide, her face holding a shocked expression. My eyes narrow as I avoid another blow with ease.

"This is no time to stand around stupid!" I yell at her, intantly getting her attention. "Run away...now! Get help!" With only a small nod in response, she takes off running. The man notices this and turns in her direction.

"Oh no you don't little girl!" He takes off after her and I follow, soon passing him. I chomp down on his ankle as he passes, causing him to trip and fall and then take off at a run in the same direction as Amu. "Get back here!" The man shouts, really more after me this time. I soon catch up to Amu, jumping into her arms and warning her to run faster.

Turning a corner, we run into two more people. _Ah great, I just got done saving her ass and now this!_After being knocked to the ground, we look up to see that the two people standing in front of us are actually Tadase and some other boy with long hair who appears to be his friend. Both seem just as surprised to see us as we are to see them. Then, they both seem to notice Amu's disheveled appearance.

"What happened Amu?" Tadase questions.

"Amu, are you okay?" The other boy further interrogates.

She just nods but then glances back behind her. I turn my gaze in that direction as well. There stands the young man, his eyes filled with bad intentions.

"Fujisaki-san!" Tadase takes the lead, and both boys step in front of her.

"Get out of my way you kids!" He warns, but niether of them moves.

Niether one moves at all. I would go stand beside them, but I would most likely only get in the way now. "We knew where you were the whole time!" Fujisaki tells him. "And we've already called the cops. Don't try to come any closer to her!"

The man's solid expression wavers for a moment only. "You're bluffing! Outta my way stupid kid!"

Tadase now speaks up. "I wonder...are we?" He turns to Fujisaki.

"Yeah," The long-haired boy shrugs. "I don't think so."

Just as he finishes his last word, a siren begins to sound, coming closer and closer. The man's expression is frosted over with fear for a moment before he turns tail and runs. There is a silence while they make sure he is gone and then both of them turn to Amu, helping her to her feet.

"Amu, what happened?" Tadase asks.

"I was just going out for a bit, I needed to take care of something. All of the sudden this guy grabbed me. I told him to get lost but he wouldn't leave me alone and then, when I got away, I ran into you guys." She explains, rightfully leaving out the part about me. It wouldn't make much sense if she tried to tell two normal, sixteen year old boys that a cat had saved her butt. Honestly, it's far-fetched even to me when I think about it enough, and I am the one that did it. But still, I hadn't really done anything a normal cat couldn't do if it wanted to. It's not like I needed brute strenth to beat him to a bloody pulp -though I may very well have _wanted _it at that time- all I really needed was to be able to distract him enough for her to get away.

"But, that aside..." She begins, cleaning herself off with a cloth given to her by Fujisaki. "Where did you guys come from?"

"We both got a call from your parents. They were worried something had happened to you because you had been gone so long." Tadase answers her question, then gently scoops her up in his arms bridal style. My jaw about hits the floor. What? After everything I just went through, he gets to carry her like a princess? Not happening. I lunge forward, biting down harshly on his ankle, making them both look at me and pale a little. Amu laughs nervously and Tadase places her back on the ground. "Your cat really must not like me. I think he's jealous." I tighten my grip on his ankle a little more before I let go, just because her made that comment. All three of them laugh.

"By the way," Amu begins to look around, confused. "Where are the cops?"

Both Fujisaki and Tadase smile at her. "There never were any. That was a bluff. Rima and Yaya are hiding just down the street a little ways with a cell phone. One of them used the siren sound effect they had on their phone."

Amu gives them both a blank stare, amazed that they were actually able to fool an adult with a bluff like this.

"For now, let's just get you back home." Tadase tells her and she nods. They meet up with the other two girls and we all make the trek back to Amu's home.

Her father is frantic when we get there and her mother looks worried as well, both of them asking her numerous questions. Her little sister attacks her with hugs and tears. They all talk for a while while I watch from the window, my tail flopping in irritation. _She went looking for me though she was pissed off and almost got hurt because of it. How stupid could she be anyway, going off all alone?_ I jump up to the balcony my usual way, waiting for her to come into her room. When she does, I paw at the door and she lets me in, then collapses on her bed. Her body must have passed its limit. I jump up beside her.

"Dummy, why did you do that?" I question in a bland voice, annoyance clear in my eyes.

"What do you mean?" She counters, sitting up and glaring at me.

"I mean why did you go looking for me like that? I just needed to take a walk. I was going to come back." I glare back at her now, my earlier annoyance flaring up to full intensity once more.

"You didn't come back for several hours! I thought something happened..." She begins coughing a lot, her face flushed deep red. Her nose runs a little and she takes a tissue from the box on her nightstand to fix that problem. My irritation only flares up more when I see just how much worse her cold is.

"Idiot! I can take care of myself! You should learn to do the same!" I shout.

"What? I was worried about you, so sue me!"

My eyes widen in surprise. My tail flairs a bit with my embarrassment. "Oh, I see..." I avert my eyes to the side, feeling a little ashamed of myself. Here she is, so sick she can barely think straight and she's still thinking for me. All I'm doing is yelling at her. "I'm sorry. You know, for everything."

She grins, lowering her hand to the space between my ears and rubbing my fur. I look up at her, my eyes wide and my heart beginning to speed up a little. She scoops me up in her arms out of the blue, cradling me like a baby and running her fingers through the fur on my stomach. "Awww...it's ok! You're such a cute little kitty! Little kitty cat!" She squeezes me tightly against her chest, her fingers still tickling my stomach. My tail flares up to a near impossible size, my ears flat with embarrassment.

"H-hey...put me down...come on!" I try, but it doesn't work. She's freaking delirious! Suddenly, she just falls down on to the bed, pulling the covers up over her head. "Jeez I'm so tired!" I just blink, wondering how a person can shift gears so quickly. _Oh well, at least they shifted away from me. _I take my usual place on the pillow next to her, looking down at her as she sleeps. I can't help but feel a little happy that she was worried for me. _Good night Amu. _I fall asleep without taking notice of the new number on my tag: 98.

**Chapter three, over. I can't say it enough. If you've read all the way to chapter three, there must be something that interested you, something you liked or something you found fun or exciting! Feel free to share that with me, even if you don't say a lot. Remember, no flames. I would like some more positive reviews from my readers. Give this story some more attention please, it's sad:..( Anyway, thanks again to all my readers! You guys are great, but my reviews are awesome. Be awesome...say something good;)**

**Anyway, just so everyone knows for sure...I will be updating this story every week. Not always on the same day, but once every week there will be a new chapter up. HOWEVER, I WILL NOT MAKE A WEEKLY POST WITHOUT A DECENT AMOUNT OF REVIEWS. I want to know what you guys think! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!**


	4. Good Deed 3&4: The Science of Music!

**Here is chapter four of Ikuto's Deeds at long last. I hope everyone enjoys reading and I hope that the annoyingly long wait for this chapter was worth it.**

**Also, if anyone thinks that it's a stretch for a cat to eat people food or learn tricks, we have a cat right now that like chips. Also, two of our other cats (which we no longer have) loved human food too. The one used to love olives and the other ate pickles. Also, Kayden (the youngest cat) knew how to shake, sit and lay down. It's not uncommon for a cat to pick up a habit if you stick with the training long enough!**

I lay stretched out on Amu's bed with my paws extended over the edge, waiting for her to return home from school. She had spent the last week and a half recovering, after contracting the flu from her head cold and today had been her first day back to school. I had told her not to go, seeing as she still has not completely recovered but she hadn't listened.

The door opens and my ears perk up. Speak of the devil, here comes trouble right now. Glancing at me, she flashes a small smile. I lift my head, my ears tilted forward. When I sniff the air, my eyes widen. "You have food!" My stomach rumbles, as if I further need to indicate just how empty it is.

"Yes…" She reaches into the brown bag and pulls out some kid's snacks. Onigiri with salmon and octopus shaped hotdogs. My mouth begins to water as I leap down off the bed. I rear up onto my hind legs to get the food and she raises it out of my reach. I jump again and once more, the food is moved too high for me to reach. Why does she need to play mean games now? I haven't had anything to eat since the day before last.

"Come on, I'm hungry…seriously…this isn't funny." I tell her, taking a seat on the floor in front of her. There's no way I'm going to be made a fool of. _Oh but god does it smell good…_

"It _is_ funny. If you wanna eat in this house then you're going to have to work for it like any other animal would." She smirks at me, waving a hotdog right in front of my face. My eyes follow it as if it's the first food I've seen since birth.

"What do you want me to do?" There is no possible way to resist in my current state. I try to refrain from drooling while I look up at her with wide, round eyes.

She grins. "Beg."

My eyes widen, my tail fanning out a little bit. My ears fall back. That was the one thing I was hoping she'd spare me of. "I'm not an animal." _But I sure am hungry. If she had a real cat I bet it would starve. I know I'm about to._ "And I don't beg from anyone."

"You've got a pretty cocky attitude for someone who almost gave in and you're no fun." Rolling her eyes, she lowers the bag of food to the ground in front of me. She sure gave up on her game of keep away rather quickly. She must feel bad for not getting me food as often as she should.

"You'd consider doing just about anything for food too if you never got fed." It comes out rushed in between my bites of food. Why not play the guilt card, since she was being so mean to me just now?

"You should be grateful instead of complaining. At least you don't have to sleep in a glass box anymore." She scowls down at me, flipping that long, pink hair over her shoulder.

"Ha! At least in that glass box a guy could get three square meals a day." I retort, pawing at the last of the octopus-shaped hotdogs. "I'm an eighteen year old boy, I need food too."

Amu grabs me by the scruff of the neck, lifting me up to eye level. I growl at her for the rude treatment as we stare each other down. Although I give no hint of it on the outside, I actually find her pretty intimadating when she's pissed off. Naturally, I have to glare back at her in this situation though, because well, she's kinda hurting me.

"Maybe you'd like to go back in that glass box." She threatens in a tone that makes a chill run down my back. "I'm doing what I _can_ considering you're not supposed to be here."

"All right I get it. No need to be harsh." I concede, making her smile. I should have known that was an argument I wasn't going to win right off the bat. "Now, will you please put me down? This hurts my neck and back."

After placing me on her bed, she walks over and takes a seat at her desk, preparing to plow through the mountain of homework in front of her. Most of it she makes it through in about ten minutes, with my help of course. But I notice her freeze up completely when we get to one book in particular. She stares at it as if there are alien hieroglyphics written all over the front of it.

I look down at it as well. "Science?" I question, then glance back up at her.

"I'm not really that great at science either. I have to really study hard or I'll be failing the class." Amu sighs, laying her head down in defeat. "Defeated by an inanimate object, jeez I'm pathetic."

I shake my head at her when she eyes me up, hoping I may be of some assistance. "Don't look at me," I warn. "I'm not good at it either."

Putting it off until later, Amu decides to go out for a little while instead. While she goes to tell her parents she's going out, I decide I don't want to be left behind this time. She can't take me with her when she goes to school, but if she's just going to go window shopping or something, I can surely go with her. I spend way too much time sitting in this house. I'm going to die young at this rate.

"Take me with you." I say flatly, causing her to glance down at me, confused. I jump up on her shoulder, balancing myself with little difficulty and face her ear. "I'm bored just sitting in your room all the time. I need my exercise."

"Maybe that's true but…I can't just walk around town holding a cat." She explains, placing me back on the floor. "Sorry Ikuto, but you should really stay in here."

I pout, looking up at her. "You don't need to carry me! I'll just tail you. I need to get out of this room…come on!"

"Fine…you can go." She sighs, opening the window. "You have to go down this way, though."

"I don't mind. It's an easy route for me." I head out to the balcony, jumping down to the sidewalk.

About ten minutes later, she is outside the local shopping mall standing in line for something at the food court. When she finally gets her order, she comes over and sits down at a table near the hedges where I am hiding. I crawl out of the bush and onto the chair, crouching down.

"You got taiyaki, right? Can I have some?" I whisper, still feeling the hunger pull at my stomach.

Amu remains silent, eating her food as if I not only am not even there but almost like I don't even exist at all.

"Come on…don't do the silent treatment right now. I didn't even do anything…" I whine, rolling my eyes. Why is she not speaking to me? Suddenly, she leans down, reaching out to the ground as if she had dropped something. I feel a chill run down my spine. Is she…glaring at me? Yeah, she's definitely glaring. Glaring daggers. "W-what?" I question, trying to keep the shakiness out of my voice.

"Did it ever occur to you that if I go around talking to cats in public, people might think I'm crazy?" She questions, her look of disdain only deepening further. "So, if you would like to eat some of the taiyaki that I bought, you're just going to have to beg for it like a regular animal. I might give you some then_...maybe_."

While I know I will regret this to the deepest depths of my soul afterwards, I really do want some of that taiyaki. I leap down from the chair, walking around and brushing my nose against her leg in a small cat kiss. I look up at her. "Meow!" _God, this is humiliating._ When she only looks down at me casually and offers no food, I begin to brush my tail against the leg of the chair, hearing the pathetic-sounding meows that come from my small body. At least there's no one else here who knows that I am really a human.

She reaches down, petting my head lightly and scratching behind my ears. I look up at her. "Can I have the food now?" She breaks off a piece and hands it down to me. The chocolate kind, which makes all that mushy animal stuff worth it, because it's my favorite. She breaks off another chunk and lowers it down to me. _This gives a new meaning to the phrase "eating out of the palm of my hand."_ I can't stop the idle though from passing through my mind and my ears flatten again in embarrassment.

When we head to the doors so that she can go inside, I notice a flyer taped to the inside of the window. My eyes widen and I walk up closer to it, rearing up onto my hind legs for a better look. "Classical Music Night?" I question. Amu lifts me up, holding me in front of it. So that she can speak without looking like a lunatic, she leans in as if she's reading it outloud.

"Yeah, they have it right here inside the mall. There are all kinds of displays and games to play. At the end of the night there is a concert held out here in the food court." She explains, making my interest grow more with every word. It's been a long time since I've even been able to play. It'd be nice to hear it for a little while.

"How come I've never heard of this before?" I ask, stretching out my neck to see when it will be held. It really does look like it'll be fun. I need some human interaction and activity or I'll probably go crazy.

"Because this is only the second time that they have done this, the first one was last month." She tells me again, then moves close to my ear so that no one will see her speak to me. "Actually, I was going to have you come with us the last time but I didn't think you'd be that interested." When she finally lowers me back to the ground, I have to gather myself for a moment. Even though she was mad at me all the time and yelled at me every single day, she still wanted me to come hang out with her back then.

The breeze catches her hair and loose, black tank top as she gives a small smile. My gaze follows her when she heads through the doors and into the mall's main corridor. Then I turn my attention once again to the flyer in the window. _I want to go to that event._

Heading over to one of the benches nearby, I curl up at the corner and take a catnap while she's gone. It doesn't take long before I am awakened, sensing someone close to me. I peek open an eye to see Amu sitting beside me on the bench. She reaches over and shakes my shoulder lightly to get me moving. She doesn't want to miss dinner, and I don't want to miss scraps. If I even get any of them, that is.

"Let's get going." She whispers. Just as we are about to walk away, a male's voice makes Amu freeze in her tracks.

"Oh…Amu-chan, it's you." Both our heads turn in the direction of the voice. I realize it's that same guy who was with Tadase when I saved Amu.

"Nagihiko, what are you doing here?" She questions, standing up and knocking fists together with him. Both of them give each other a small smile as they move their hands away. Is that some kind of a greeting for them? I don't get it and tilt my head in confusion.

"Actually I am just here working the ice cream stand today. But were kinda busy, I was lucky to be able to take a short break." Fujisaki tells her, looking slightly worn out. He takes a deep breath and rubs his forehead. "What are you doing out?"

She grins at the boy and holds up her bad proudly. "I was here to to pick something up. It was the last one, so I was lucky. But anyway...you said that you had been busy?"

"Yeah," He looks over his shoulder at the little cart with the huge-ass line of people stemming from it. "It's been swamped all morning. Nothing we can't handle though." Even though he says this, it's blantanly obvious that he wiped out and has had a long day.

"Oh?" I watch her eyes move toward the huge line at the small ice cream stand just as Fujisaki's had. They then turn back toward him again. "I can help you out if you need an extra pair of hands."

"You really want to? I don't want to bother you." The kid rubs the back of his head sheepishly, looking as if he feels like he goaded her into it. Honestly, it almost feels as though he had in a small way.

"Sure, I can give my mom a call and tell her that I got some work at the mall today and to put my dinner in the fridge." She pulls out the cell phone and makes the call before he can protest any further.

This is when he finally takes notice of me. "Oh hey little guy, you're the same cat that was there the night we saved Amu." The boy gives me a smile and I just stare blankly up at him. Why even bring that night up? As if it wasn't bad enough being put through all that once. Who wants to be reminded of it? At that, "when _they_ saved Amu?" Really? Just like I did absolutely nothing and just stood by idly, watching.

"I can tell you were there cause you knew she was in trouble too. You're a smart guy." My eyes widen when he tells me this. He reaches out to pet me, his hand lightly coming to rest on my shoulder just as Amu puts her phone in her pocket. When she looks over to see Fujisaki petting me, her face goes white as a ghost's.

"Wait…Nagihiko!" His head turns in her direction when she shouts and I just stare at her. "You shouldn't do that…he um…he bites." As she comes over beside the boy, he turns back to me, still tapping my shoulder in a friendly manner.

He gives me a kind smile. "Well if he bites me, then I'll know to pull away."

I glance at Amu and it seems she understands my ill-intentions in this instance without any exchange of words. She clenches her teeth and I stand up, reaching my paw out just enough so that the back of it connects with the back of Fujisaki's hand. It's the best that I can do to imitate their earlier hand gesture as an animal, but it seems he gets it.

Amu looks both agitated and confused as I glance at her quickly. "What?" I ask, my tone teasing slightly. "Did you think I was gonna bite him?" The next expression to cross her features only confirms the answer to my question. I smirk inwardly and then jump from the bench, heading back into the hedges.

"He really is a smart guy." I hear Fujisaki tell Amu, after he is called back to work. She nods in response.

Looking over to the bench as they walk away, I notice a bag sitting there and sigh. Amu must have forgotten all about it when she made that phone call to her mother. Snatching it up before anyone has a chance to take it, I figure that giving it back to her could be "good deed" material. Anything that gets me closer to being a boy again.

Fujisaki offers to walk her home after work is done, not wanting her to be by herself after what had happened while she was sick. Frankly, I don't blame him. I trail behind them, wishing more than anything that I had my thumbs back and stood more than a few inches from the ground. Carrying this damn bag in my mouth like this is the worst. I stumble and almost fall off the narrow ledge that I'm walking on. It seems like ages and ages before we are finally back at the house and I am made to wait outside while Amu goes up to open her balcony door and let me in.

Watching Fujisaki begin to walk away from my hiding space behind the wall, I notice him taking a book from his backpack: AP Biology. Advanced Placement huh? Then I was right about the guy, he's pretty cool.

"Ikuto!" Amu calls, breaking me from my trance. She's gone from the window when I look up, but I jump up to the wall anyway. Next, I do my best to reach the balcony but end up only reaching the edge of the wall, weighted down by whatever's inside her god damn bag.

"Shit!" I call out, making her look up at me from her desk. She makes no move, still trying to grasp what's going on. "Well don't just sit there! Come help me! Hurry!" She jumps up from her chair, running over and grabbing me and the bag.

"Hey, where did you get this?" She questions, looking more than a little confused. I roll my eyes.

"You left it sit back there at the mall. I didn't want someone to steal it, so I brought it back with me." I tell her, averting my sight and keeping my expression neutral to hide my embarrassment.

I feel her begin to pat my head and look up at her, my eyes widening a little. She gives me a warm smile when our eyes meet. "Well, you're that much closer then."

Just like that, the moment is broken. Where the hell did that come from? This girl really drums to her own beat sometimes. "Random much?" I ask her, jumping off the balcony wall and following her inside.

She just points down at me, still smiling. "It wasn't random at all. Look for yourself."

I follow the direction of her finger with my eyes, finally looking at the tag on my collar. My eyes widen in surprise once more. There, etched upon the little fish-shaped piece of metal is a new number: 97. My heart thumps hard in my chest. I'm one number closer!

But two things still weigh on my mind, snapping me from my reverie. I look up at the girl who is now moving the bag to the other side of her desk and pulling her Science homework in front of her. I leap up onto the desk beside her book, looking at her with a semi-curious expression on my face. She glances down at me for a second and then returns her attention to the work at hand.

"Do you need something?" Amu flips to the right page in her book and starts writing something down on her worksheet.

"Well," I begin, my eyes shifting toward the heavy-ass bag, "I was actually just wondering what was in that bag. It was pretty heavy."

She turns toward the bag and pulls out a really thick book, then lays it in front of me so that I can see the title. I tilt my head a little, wrinkling my nose in disapproval. What is Amu doing with a book like this? She only giggles at my reaction. "Why did you buy _Breaking Dawn_? It doesn't seem like something you like." I scrunch up my nose further as I say the title, feeling a bit disappointed. I didn't know she was into this vampire dribble.

"I'm not." She answers, surprising me. She picks the book back up, placing it back down into the bag. "It's actually for Yaya. Her birthday is coming up and this was the last one in the store. She's really into it, so I wanted to get her something she was going to like."

I look from her to the bag and nod, then lay down, facing the girl. She places her hand on the top of my head once more, her cheeks flushed. My mouth falls open a little as her hand moves back and forth between my ears. Her expression far surpasses appreciation. "You did me a really big favor by bringing that back to me. I'm really in your debt, Ikuto."

I quickly close my mouth, turning my head away from her and closing my eyes. "Just…be more careful next time ok? Do that and you don't owe me anything."

I peek open an eye to see her looking a little surprised. She simply nods and turn back to her work.

Just as I begin to give into another nap, the second thing that had been on my mind surfaces again. My eyes snap open and I get to my feet quickly, starting the hard-working girl beside me. She blinks twice before she settles down again and then she turns back to her work.

"What?" She questions, her concentration else ware.

I look down, feeling my tail fan out a little bit in frustration and embarrassment. I know that what I'm about to ask her is going to sound a lot like I'm trying to ask her out but part of me doesn't care. The part of me that really, really wants to go to the event at the mall overpowers my hesitation. "Actually, I really wanted you to take me to that event at the mall." I say, my tone even. I managed to not sound like a shy little kid.

She turns to me when she hears this, looking interested. "I don't think inter-species dating is allowed." She places a finger on her chin, looking deep in thought. My ears fall flat, the hair on my back and tail standing completely on end, most likely rising with my irritation. However, before I can argue she begins to laugh. I tilt my head as I look at her, not having expected her to react like that. "Just kidding, I know I'm the only one who can take you. I'll ask my parents at dinner tomorrow."

When I realize that she was only teasing me, my mouth falls agape. "What was that for? That wasn't a funny joke." My facial expression grows a bit angrier before I notice the way she is looking at me. Her glare is even more intense than the one that she had given me this afternoon. I feel even smaller than I actually am under this intense glare.

"And neither was trying to make me think you were gonna bite Nagihiko earlier today." It is a simple reply, but it's enough to make me feel a little bad. Even if it was just a joke, I shouldn't have tried to make her look stupid in front of her friend.

"Okay, I get it already." I lower my head in a bow. "I'm sorry. Besides, Fujisaki is cool. I'm not gonna bite him."

The following day, Amu lets me downstairs, as long as I make sure to keep myself scarce and get back upstairs when her parents come home. I promise her that I will, but her mother foils those plans.

"Amu, I'm home!" She calls as she comes in the door. The hair on my back stands on end as if the words are literally piercing my body. I scurry under the couch as fast as I can. I watch as Amu comes into the room, looking a little flustered. Her mom walks up to her.

"Mama, what are you doing home so early?" She asks the woman, who smiles at her.

"I told you that I was only working half of the day today. So, how was school?" When her mother asks this question, Amu lowers her head looking disturbed.

"Well, most of the day was good. Science class though…" She hands her mom the homework she was working on last night. I notice all the red marks and shake my head. She wasn't kidding when she said she was bad at it.

"Amu…you really do need to get these grades up." Her mom tells her, receiving a nod in response.

"I know that mom." Amu lowers her head, clasping her hands in front of her body. The picture of shame. "I'm just not good at it and it doesn't help that the teacher is _booooring_." This earns a purposeful glance from her mother that makes even me straighten up a little. I remember getting looks like that from my parents when I did poorly in school. Not much fun.

"Regardless of whether it's fun or not, I do need you to try a little harder. Ok Amu?" Her arms are crossed, her brow arched meaningfully.

Amu nods, still looking upset. I know that expression too. _I'm already doing the best I can. There are some things that you're just not good at whether you do your best or not._ I've given that look to my parents. In fact, I've said those words to them. I kind of feel bad for Amu right now.

After everyone is home, they all sit down to dinner. Amu looks pointedly at both her parents. She doesn't look all that confident that they will let her go. I wouldn't either if I were in her position, to be honest.

"Mama? Papa?" She questions, causing everyone at the table to look at her curiously. "There's an event coming up at the mall next Friday. Can I please go?"

Both parents stare at her for a moment before turning to each other and exchanging a decisive glance. When they turn back to her, I see Amu's expression fall even more. I can only imagine the look on their faces right now. Her father is the first to speak. "Amu, we're both concerned about your grades in Science."

"We don't think you should be going out when you have such a poor score in Science." Her mother explains further as Amu nods, trying not to look as disappointed as she is. Even Ami is silent right now, knowing that this is no time to interrupt. My ears flatten at this answer, angry. _Man, her parents really suck_.

"I…understand…" Amu tells her parents at length, her face downcast. Both of them notice it at once and surprise me by deciding to go a little easier on her.

"Listen…" Her mom begins with a lengthy sigh. "…if you promise to work really hard in Science over this next week and show us some improved scores by this Friday, we'll let you go next week." She mother gives the pink-haired girl a small smile. "Does that sound like a deal?"

Amu's face is completely lit up, a huge smile now taking the space the frown had been holding previously. "It's a deal!" She says enthusiastically, then begins to dig into her food as Ami tells their parents about her day at preschool.

My ears perk up, a contented expression filling my face. My tail twitches from side to side happily. _Her parents are cool!_

While her mom and dad clean up, Amu helps me sneak upstairs and sits back down at her desk with another put-off packet of science homework. She sets to work on it without a word, concentrating as hard as I've ever seen her. My eyes widen. She's working so hard just so I can go to the Classical Music Night? I jump up onto her bed and turn away from her. I wish that there were some way I could help her with this, since she's going to all this trouble to get me to that event. But I'm no good at stuff like this, and I know her parents are busy with work and don't have much time right now. What could be done about this.

What about asking a friend to help? But does she have any freinds who are good at stuff like that? I don't really know any of them that well, so I have to think hard about it for a few minutes. Suddenly, I remember Fujisaki. He's in AP, so maybe he can help. Somehow, I'll have to get him to help Amu. The hard part won't be convincing him to do it, the hard part will mostly consist of how I am going to get him here and sneak back into the house without her parents noticing.

She goes to sleep reluctantly, looking far less than confident. She doesn't even look at me. I can tell she feels bad about not being able to do any better. I close my eyes, still feeling bad for her and snuggle up against her stomach. I touch her side with a paw. She merely shifts a little closer to me. If I could, I'd be smiling. _Don't worry Amu, things will get better tomorrow. You'll see._ With that in mind, we both drift away into peaceful dreams.

"Amu!" I shout, making her open her eyes. I start hopping from one foot to another. "Amu…wake up! I need to go!" I yell, making her eyes pop open. She hops out of bed, making a mad dash for the sliding door and throws it open, allowing me to jump out and make my way to the ground. I look back up at the window and smile, making my way toward the mall. When I find Nagihiko working at the ice cream stand again, I wonder up to him and sit down. One loud meow is all it takes to get him to turn around.

"Oh hey buddy." He smiles, holding his hand out to me. I lift my paw, touching the back of his hand. Maybe the hand-knocking thing isn't so strange after all. "What are you doing all the way out here?" He questions, looking around for Amu. I meow up at him again. He just shrugs.

"Well, when I am done here, I guess I'll have to take you back to Amu. You always seem to be beside her."

He carries me to Amu's house about a half an hour later. I only allow him to carry me because if he thinks I can get back on my own, he may not go all the way to Amu's house. Of course, once we get close, I have to somehow get away from him and get Amu's attention. At the same time, I can't allow him to leave.

As soon as I can wriggle free of his arms, I do it, running over and jumping up to Amu's balcony. I hurriedly paw at the door, making her come out to get me. "Amu…" I huff, slumping down to the ground. That was the fastest I've had to move in a while. Helping this girl sure does require a large amount of physical prowess. "I brought someone to help you…hurry before he leaves…" She steps over me without even asking if I'm ok and moves out onto the balcony, peering down over the side.

"Oh, Nagihiko!" She shouts. "Since he dragged you all the way here, come on up!"

"Ok!" He shouts back up to the girl.

"So he just showed up where you were working? I'm sorry he made you come all the way here right after work." She bows her head in apology.

"Oh it was no problem. He's a cool little guy." He replies. I meow in agreement, making him look over at me. "And he's smart too."

"So, what are you doing?" He asks, staring at the large packet of papers laying on her desk. She sighs, going over and throwing herself back in her chair.

"I'm doing science homework. But I'm really no good at it." Amu looks a bit depressed again, letting out a huge sigh. Once again, she is defeated by and inanimate object. Normally I would call that pathetic, but since I'm no good at it either, I'll let her have this one.

"Oh, well if you are having trouble, I can help with it." He reassures her, smiling. He moves around to the other side of the desk, leaning down onto it. "So, what are you having trouble with?"

Her expression goes blank. I know what that look means. "Everything." Amu replies at length.

Over the next few days, Fujisaki comes over to out house every night after school and work to help Amu with her Science homework. They spend a good half an hour each day at her desk as he goes over examples with her and shows her how to do different kinds of problems. On the first night she brings something home to show her parents, there is no real improvement, but the grade is a tiny bit higher than before. On the second night, the amount of red pen marks on the paper is actually visibly reduced. By the third night, the shock of seeing her imporved score almost makes me collapse to the ground. She's improved by over 20 points in just three days by having Fujisaki's tutoring. On the fourth night she takes a seat at the dinner table, handing the greaded homework over to her mother. I watch as her mother raises her eyesbrows and her father's face fills with a smile.

"Wow Amu, you've really done well this past week." Her mother tells her, sounding more surprised than she probably should.

"Yes," Her dad nods his agreement. "it looks like you'l be ok to go to that event on Friday then."

I thump a paw against the ground in excitement, having heard everything from my hiding place under the couch. _All right!_

"I never would have gotten through it without the help of two of my friends." She clarifies, giving Fujisaki a smile. "Thanks Nagi."

He grins at the girl as well. "No, thank you. This is a delicious meal, Mrs. Hinamori." His gaze shifts gratefully to her mother now.

"It was the least we all could do, since you've been using your time to help Amu like this." The woman tells him.

After diner is over and all of the mess is cleared, Amu and I relax on her bed. Her face is filled with a wide, happy smile. I turn my head to look at her, lying on my back with my legs pressed limply to my body. She turns to me, still smiling and suddenly attacks me with a tight hug.

"What is this for?" I ask, my eyes closed tightly.

"You were the one who went and got Nagi. So, you're why I was able to get help in the first place." She tightens her arms around me. I feel my heart thump harshly in my chest. "I'm happy that you get to go to the Music Night, Ikuto. I know it will be fun."

My expression softens, giving in to her arms clasped around me. My body relaxes and my tail begins to flop lazily. I cuddle up against her, suddenly realizing that this is the most comfortable I've ever been this close to another person. Even if it's still slightly awkward, I just can't help it. She's so warm.

I feel my tag of my collar press against my chin and move away from it, my eyes opening in irritation. They widen rapidly when I see the number on the collar has changed again. The little silver fish now reads: 96. I wasn't even thinking about a deed this time, in fact, what I had done was actually selfish. Or...was it? Oh well, better try to get some sleep.

When I awaken the following day, the first thing I am aware of is a large pair of amber eyes staring right at me. The hair on my back stands on end and I jump to my feet, backpeddling into the wall behind me. The toddler named Ami crawls up onto the bed, waking her sister. "Kitty!" She cries, reaching out to me.

Amu wakes fully with a start, jumping out of bed and lifting her sister away from me, looking a little more than flustered. "A-Ami! What are you doing in here?"

"I saw da kitty before and wanted to play with him again!" She reaches out to me, but Amu holds her back, sighing.

"Ami, you can't. He's not our cat." The pink haired girl explains to her younger sibling when she starts to pout and whine. "Now, mama and papa don't know that he's here, so I need you to keep this a secret and I promise to let to you play with him after this as much as you want. Deal?"

Looking away from me and toward Amu, Ami's pouty lip lifts up into a huge smile, her eyes sparkling and wide. Did I just feel a chill run down my spine or is that my sould leaving my body? I don't want to play 'dress up the cat' with some three-year-old! Lord above, please help me. Ami nods happily. "Ok sissy!"

We've all been so preoccupied with the toddler that no one has noticed Amu's mom standing in the doorway. When Amu stands up and turns to see her little sister out of the room, everything seems to freeze in time. I feel like I've lost all feeling in my entire body. I see Amu's face go pale. Ami, not realizing the severity of the situation, covers her mouth and giggles. Her mother raises and eyebrow, her foot tapping against the floor as if she's tapping out the seconds to her daughter's damn good explaination. When nothing is said for another two minutes, Mrs. Hinamori breaks the silence.

"Care to explain this to me Amu?" She says, her face, expression, posture...everything about her screaming, "I am waiting young lady!"

**Well, this ends chapter four. I am very sorry about the lack of updates. First I was having a terrible case of writer's block and then the login was down, so I was still unable to upload even when I had finished. Anyway, when I had writer's block I was so frustrated I even started to draw a comic where Ikuto (as a cat) was begging me to write more because he didn't want to be a cat forever. I don't know why, but I guess I was hoping it would help motivate me to write more for you guys. And for anyone here who got curious about my drawing (doubt that, but still) from my saying that, my icon found at the upper left-hand corner of my profile is something that I drew and colored myself. **

**So, I hope everyone liked this. Now that Amu's parents know, it will be a lot more interesting! Please review and tell me what you think of it. Look forward to a more timely review next week people, I promise that I will upload faster haha! Also, I fit in two deeds in this chapter. I'm really hoping that it doesn't feel rushed! **


	5. Good Deed Five: Kitty Cupid

**UPDATE: Hey everyone, I probably had you all worried I wouldn't be writing anymore for a while there. Well, after those storms the spring things only just kept getting more hectic. Also, I have moved from my old home and now live on the west coast. I plan to start writing the next chapter of the story TONIGHT and have it up with in the nest couple days. Even though you've all waited long enough all ready, please be just a tiny bit more patient. **

**Thanks to everyone for their support so far,**

**Samantha.**

**Okay, so here is chapter five of Ikuto's good deeds. And yes I included Tadase in this one and am making the two of them go to the dance together in this chapter, but she obviously can't go with her cat. Also, I don't hate Tadase, so I gave him sorta the antagonistic role as Ikuto's rival. It won't be portrayed often, but I really thought that I should show some tension between the two boys and keep that element the similar to how it was in Shugo Chara. Anyway, I hope you all like it!**

Amu and her mom both sit on the edge of her bed, still talking over the situation. Looking up at the two of them, I decide to help move the conversation along a little by throwing in some animal charm. Hopping up into the spot beside her mother, I let out a small meow and reach up, pawing lightly at her arm. She glances down at me and I stare back up, then cat-kiss her elbow. Next thing I know I'm in her arms, held where my paws are on her shoulder and my back feet are in her hand. She gives me a tight squeeze with her other arm and then places me back on the mattress beside her. I shake my head. That was a bit more than I had been bargaining for. But hey, at least it got the kind of reaction I had been looking for- a positive one.

"He is very cute," She tells her daughter, patting the top of my head. "You shouldn't have lied about it though."

"I know that. I'm sorry. I just felt kinda bad for him and wanted to give him a place to stay." Amu really looks defeated right now.

Mrs. Hinamori nods again at the girl and then lets out a lengthy sigh. "When your dad and I get home from work tonight, we can all talk about this. But I'm sure he'll have no problem with a cat."

"Thanks mom!" Amu's frown disappears instantly, her eyes looking excited.

"Although…" The woman stands now, knowing she will have to leave soon to go to work. "…if you are going to have a pet, it'll be your responsibility to buy the things he needs like toys, litter and food. So you'll need money."

Amu nods at her mother and stands as well now, giving the woman a hug comparably tight to the one her mother had given me. This must be a family of people who love to hug. "Don't worry, I'll get it taken care of! And we can talk about this tonight!"

With that her mom leaves the room, giving her daughter an understanding smile. Ami follows behind her mother only after being called, looking over her shoulder at me with a pouty frown. Man, that must be the only thing I am _not_ looking forward to about being allowed to stay here. I'm not a toddler's toy, by any means.

Amu turns and looks at me, looking shocked by her mother's reaction, or rather her lack of a bad reaction. A huge smile fills her features as she scoops me up in her arms, cradling me like a baby. I just stare at her, finally allowing my body to relax.

"I'm just glad it all worked out." She tells me as I walk beside her on her way to school.

"Yeah, I'm just happy I'm not confined to only one room anymore. It's too cramped for me." I whine back at her, earning a pointed glance from the corner of her eyes.

Instead of scolding me however, she just becomes quiet. Like usual, there is something on her mind and she seems to find it easier to deal with whatever-it-is all by herself. I shake my head, purposefully bumping against her leg. I can feel her eyes on the back of my neck and instantly my body goes tense. "I-if you need to talk about something, you can. Nobody is going to fault you for having worries."

"Yeah I know. I'll tell you about it at home…" She leans down, holding her thumb and index finger in front of my nose. I react without thinking about it, giving her a light cat-kiss on her hand. _Mmm, her hand is so soft._ When I realize what I just did the hair on my back begins to raise up a bit and I take a step back.

"Do what you want. I'll see you at home." I tell her in an even tone, before turning and walking away. Jeez, it's so easy to be teased when I'm in this body. I chance a glace over my shoulder at her and see her talking to Tadase. I feel my claws come out a bit. I really don't like him.

"So, what was on your mind this morning?" I ask, hopping up on the bed beside her as she flops down.

"Well, there's a dance coming up at the school. It'll be on next Saturday night, the day after the Classical Music event and…I don't have anyone to go with." She buries her face in the pillow, her body language that of a person who's completely drained. It must have been a long day for her.

"You're saying no one's asked you yet?" This is completely shocking to me. If I were human now, I would have asked her. Grant it, she wouldn't have believed me or even taken me seriously in the slightest way, but I still would have taken a shot at it.

"Well, that's the thing," She finally lifts her head, turning to look at me. "It's a girls-ask-guys event. So _I _will have to ask someone."

"They've never done anything like that before." This is also news to me. I had known about dances at school. I'd even gone to just a couple, to see what they were like. I don't remember there ever being an actual event for girls asking guys out. Usually, they just did that on their own because girls are fickle like that.

"Yeah, the student council president and committee decided on it last month and announced it a few weeks ago. But I can't really get up the courage to ask the person I want to." She lays her head back down, at a complete loss. I place my paw on her shoulder, lowering my head a little bit. I already know who it is she wants to ask out, but I can't help but ask about it anyhow.

"It's that 'Tadase' kid again isn't it?" Jeez, I'm acting like such a pansy. Why do I even care this much if she likes some kid at school? It's none of my business anyway.

"Yeah, but I doubt that he's not taken yet." She replies, her face downcast and dim. What a bad attitude. Does she have to pout for a while before making every decision? But then again, she does have a good point. That might actually be true. If even _she_ likes that kid, then he must be pretty popular in her grade.

"Well, if you can't ask him, why not one of your other friends?" I suggest, trying to be helpful. She only shakes her head, shooting it down. Well, I can't really help her if she's just going to be completely negative about all of this. "You're being really difficult about this..."

"I'm just being realistic. Kukai is in your grade and Rima is going with Nagihiko. Yaya is still in middle school, but she's going because the class president is taking her." She turns over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling blankly. Her mouth set in a frown, her eyebrows crinkled in frustration, she digs her hand into her pillow. It's a good thing she's holding that pillow right now and not me.

"Well, you could just ask him." I look the other way when Amu starts to stare at me in surprise. I may not like him, but I can't go with her so why should she not at least give it all she's got? She can do at least that much. "You never know if he's gonna say yes or no until you ask. The worst that he's gonna say is 'I'm going with someone already'."

When she begins to giggle, I turn to her feeling my tail fan out a little in frustration. Why is she laughing at me? I was being completely serious.

"Come on…you don't have to laugh…" I pout, annoyed and embarrassed at the same time. "…it seriously isn't funny."

Shaking her hand at me as if she's taking an eraser to the conversation, her giggle fit subsides. I watch her, expecting an explanation for her behavior.

"It wasn't anything like you're thinking, honest…" She pats the top of my head and then swings her legs over the edge of the bed, sitting up and looking much brighter than before. Her smile holds my attention. "It's just…you actually sounded mature for a second there and it threw me. That's all."

She moves to her desk to start on her homework before dinner while I contemplate whether I had just been insulted or not.

"Amu, dinner!" Her father calls up the stairs. She closes her book and picks me up, carrying me down. As they eat dinner and talk about me while I roam around under the table, I can't help but get the feeling that she's introducing me to her family. It makes me smile inwardly. It's nice to be so close to her and her family, though I can't put my finger on why exactly.

"So you found him Amu?" Her mother asks, then takes a bite of food.

"Yeah, I found him that day that I went to the mall with my friends a couple weeks ago." Good idea leaving out the part about completely blowing her allowance on buying me. That might actually convince them that I _shouldn't _stay here. We don't need that to happen.

"I see," Her father chimes in. "well, you know you'll have to care for him yourself right? He is your responsibility from this point forward."

"Yeah I know." Amu nods at her parents. "I'll take good care of him I promise. I'm going to start looking for work so that I can pay for what he needs." She stands up and goes over to place her plate in the sink, then returns to the table and re-seats herself across from her mother and father. They both smile with approval.

"Well, as long as you know that much," Her mom tells her, collecting the remaining plates from the table. "We're fine with you keeping him."

"We're all happy you're keeping him!" Ami joins in the conversation, taking her plate to her mother. "Now I wanna play with kitty!"

Just like that, the moment is completely broken. She bounds toward me and I take off, hiding under the couch. I hear Amu laugh.

"I think he has a problem with younger kids." She says as Ami tries to reach for me and I try to evade her. "By the way, there's a dance at the school coming up. Since I'm doing much better in science now, can I go to that as well as the classical music event?"

"Go ahead." Her mother says. "Have fun dear."

"A dance?" Her father asks. "Like one that you go to with a boy?" I can practically feel the tension in the room when it goes silent. I peek out from under the couch while Ami's attention is on the conversation.

"That's right." Amu replies, looking at her father as if she's about to be punished for something she hasn't done wrong.

Just at that moment her mother cuts in, looking at Mr. Hinamori. "Dear, it is just a dance."

He turns to protest but abandons that mission when he realizes how deep the look of annoyance is on his wife's face.

"Yes honey." His sigh is one of defeat, deep and heavy.

While Ami is still distracted, I sneak off to Amu's room, hiding myself there until the pinkette comes back up. When she closes the door I finally come out of hiding, jumping onto the top of her desk. She looks at me and smiles.

"I'll try asking him tomorrow."

"Ok." I say in an even tone, trying not to sound too interested, but am smiling inwardly.

She finishes up her homework tonight with a little bit of help from me and then she gets changed and climbs into bed, making a spot for me beside her. I jump up and curl in tightly at her side. It's almost starting to feel normal to me now to be beside her each night.

When she heads to school the Monday morning, I trail behind her. I know she said she'd try to tell him, but knowing her, she'll probably wimp out and not do it. I'm just going to make sure she actually keeps her word.

"Tadase-kun?" I hear her ask, sounding entirely way too shy. I can't help but want to roll my eyes. Why does she have to act like a ditz when he's around? She isn't really like that.

"Yes, Amu?" When he responds to her, she looks down at the ground and I show my teeth a little.

"You said you would. Don't be dumb." My tail twitches from side to side lazily. She better go the hell through with this or I'm gonna get pissed.

She turns back toward the kid. "Umm…I was just wondering if….if you…" Before she can get it all out someone interrupts, a boy with short dark hair and glasses.

"Excuse me, Hotori-san? Can I see you for a second…I need to go over this month's class budget with you." He tells the blonde boy, who answers with a nod. Well, she can't really interrupt him now. He's probably treasurer or something like that.

Amu walks off to her classes, looking rather sad once again and I turn and head off to the house. Now what? If she doesn't ask him soon, she won't be going to that dance at all. That aside, if she doesn't get to go or doesn't ask, I know she's going to be in an extremely bad mood. Maybe I can try and cheer her up some after she gets home from school and goes job searching. Who knows? It may even be worth a good deed if I help her with this. She'll feel a little better, I'll be that much closer to becoming human again and the best part of it all: she won't have to go to the dance with that Tadase kid after all.

I stop in my tracks. I don't even understand why that suddenly matters so much. I never noticed this boy or the fact that she liked him before I turned into a cat or before I had to be around her all the time. At that, just because I am now aware of it doesn't mean it should matter. What should matter is getting these deeds done so I can be a human again! I run off toward the house, heading straight up to Amu's balcony once I am there. I lay down on the hard concrete, pouting about this whole thing until I fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. Who needs all this anxiety?

I am awakened by the glass door sliding open sometime later. Amu comes over to me, her hands on her hips. "What are you doing out here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? The Tango?" She crosses her arms at my smart-ass remark. I look at her as if she has lobsters coming from both her ears after letting out a long yawn. "I'm sleeping."

"Well I see that you're sleeping, but why out here? The sun must have been baking you like you were in an oven." She shades her eyes from the sun with her hand, looking up at the sky as if she needs to further elaborate.

"Well, you're going job searching today. We better get going or there isn't going to be much daylight left to get it done." I tell her, standing up and stretching out. "I'll be waiting down on the sidewalk whenever you are ready to go." With that said, I leap down from the balcony and wait for her.

After about ten minutes, she is wondering through town holding a newspaper classifieds page and a pen for filling out applications. I follow quietly behind her, trying not to draw too much attention to the two of us. She stops in front of a local grocery store, then heads inside to get an application done. Next we head toward the mall, because most of the places seeking work are located there. I must wait outside yet again while she goes in to do her thing. As I look around I notice that they have begun to set things up for the music night.

After a good hour inside the mall, Amu finally emerges, looking way more than just pleased. She comes over to me straight away, lifting me off the ground and spinning around happily. However, the only effect this had on me is making me severely dizzy. "A-Amu...what are you doing?" I ask, seeing double when I gaze at her.

"I found a job! It's a videogame store in the mall and I'll get to work with Tadase-kun!" She squeals.

"I'm glad you found a job." I tell her honestly. _I'm not glad he's working with you though._ I decide to leave that part out, since I really don't see how it's relevant. "Let's get home so that you can tell your mom and dad you found a place to work." She nods at this, starting off at a run while still cradling me in her arms.

After having given it some thought for the evening, I turn and look at her as she stares at the ceiling. She still looks like that dance and everything surrounding it is weighing heavily on her mind. Girls sure do worry a lot about things like that.

"Hey, I thought of a way for you to ask Tadase to the dance." I tell her, keeping my tone even. This really is a pain. What am I? A match-maker? Like it's my job to figure out how to get her dates with other guys. She should be doing these kinds of things herself. She now looks over at me, her eyes practically overflowing with interest. I look away from her now, closing my eyes and resting my head on the pillow beside me. "You make a deal with him like your parents do. Say that since you're going to be working at the store with him, he should go to the dance with you. That way, is seems more like a favor being returned and isn't embarrassing in the least."

I peek open and eye to see her giving me a wide smile. She reaches out and gives me a long stroke down my back as a type of reward. I watch her while she turns back onto her back and gazes up at the light.

"Thank you Ikuto. You really are a good friend." When she says this, it's worth one thousand pats on the back to me for some reason. I feel my chest swell a little and move closer to her, smiling inwardly.

When she runs this prospect by Tadase the following day outside of the school, he is thrilled and accepts. Amu turns toward me and gives a grateful smile as the two of them walk into class together. I head off toward the house, looking down at my collar. The number has now changed again to a 96. I guess that really was worth a good deed, and honestly for as much grief as it caused me, it better damn well have been. I'm not cupid.

When Friday night rolls around at last, I'm more excited than I've ever been for some reason. I feel like a giddy little five-year-old on the night before Christmas. Amu pulls on a light jacket for when it starts to get colder at night and then slings a large, deep purse-looking thing over her arm. She glances at me.

"Well, get in."

"What?" I question, my neck craning in confusion. I'm not one of those little dogs that old, tacky ladies carry in their purses. I have legs, so I can walk.

"Well, if you want to go inside, you're going to have to conceal yourself. If you hold still enough, you should be able to hide in this." She tells me, opening the bag in front of me so that I'll be able to jump in. Seems to make sense when she puts it that way. I jump in, peeking through a small hole in the side. This should be just fine. That kid can have his night with Amu tomorrow and I'll have mine tonight.

When we get to the mall, everything is lit up like the carnival is in town. There are Christmas lights strung around the bushes and trees, streamers and lanterns hanging at almost every available space. There are new food stands set up to bring in more customers. My eyes widen in amazement, my mouth set in a contented line. This night could only get better if I were a human and could enjoy it. Amu walks inside, turning from side to side to look at the different activities and letting me have a good look at everything too. My tail flops back and forth excitedly just being able to see all these things. A bean-bag toss over on the left side of the mall's walk way, a small group of artists playing some classical music up ahead. I get to spend tonight alone with Amu as her friend. The only thing that would make thing night better is if I were human.

"Amu...let's go try the bean-bag toss!" I say excitedly, letting my love of music show. She's the only one who can hear me, so I can't really embarrass myself too much.

She heads over to it, taking some yen from her back pocket and handing it to the man. She gently sets me down so that I can watch from the side. I guess tonight I'll be living vicariously though her in addition to being hauled around in a purse. It's a good thing I'm an animal, because right now I don't feel manly at all.

Amu tosses the first one, just barely hitting the bottom of the wooden target.

"Come on Amu...don't be lame!" I shout at her from inside the bag, making her turn over her shoulder and scowl for a second.

She tosses the second one now and makes the second from the middle. The man behind the stand tells her that she can either pick a prize now or keep playing to win a bigger toy. She chooses to toss again and finally hits the bull's eye. I don't really get to see what toy she picks out because my field of vision is very limited inside of this bag. Next we head off to some of the stands doing presentations and then get something to eat at one of the restaurants. After playing watching her play a few more games, the main event of the night is the concert that they'll be having on the make-shift stage outside. She takes me out and gets an open seat near the front. Finally I am allowed to come out of the bag and sit on her lap.

When the music starts, she places her hand on my back and begins rubbing the back of my neck in rhythm to the violins. I close my eyes and lean my head back against her small, flat belly. Now this night has become really nice. Soft, flowing classical music ringing in my ears accompanied by the gentle touches on the back of my neck and head. The dusk breeze just blowing lightly through my hair. I don't think I've ever felt so at peace.

The following evening when she leaves to go to the dance, I watch her leave still feeling uneasy about the whole thing. I'm just feeling deeply annoyed at her spending the night laughing with him and talking to him instead of me. It's even more annoying that I feel this way in general. I never thought jealousy was an attractive trait and always said it was for little kids, but then here I am acting like one myself. I really am a hypocrite. Instead of giving the whole situation some though, I just head up to her room and curl up on her bed for a nap. Always a good way to deal with your problems: just avoid them altogether and do something else.

**Well, that's it for chapter five. Ikuto's feeling a little depressed now huh? Well don't worry, since he got to have his time with Amu too. Please let me know what you all thought of it. And yes, this chapter only had one good deed in it because I didn't really want to throw in two or three of them this time. This chapter was meant to be a little more cute and sweet and is slightly shorter than before. I'll be throwing in a lot of touching moments for the two of them and including the other characters in future chapters too! Look forward to a lot more fun coming your way on Ikuto's journey to become human again.**

**Also, I do apologizing for updating at the very end of the week. Anyway, thanks for all of your support thus far! And try hitting that little blue review button and leaving some nourishment for my soul ok? haha;) **

**Also, I am currently considering getting a beta for this story. Even though I go over it many times, I do not catch all my mistakes because of my tired eyes haha. So if you are interested in beta-ing this story for me, send a PM and let me know.**


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